


Undercover

by NeoCultureBangtan



Category: NCT (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-10-03 03:50:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17276552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoCultureBangtan/pseuds/NeoCultureBangtan
Summary: A secret relationship doesn’t settle well with best friends, especially when there are lies being told. But luckily, two of the friends come up with a plan to go undercover and help the happy couple feel comfortable sharing their big secret. Where does it all lead in the end?





	1. The Introduction: Dynamic Duo

I walk up to the door, but before I can come to a stop and calmly knock on the door, the front of my shoe catches on the ground and I fall forward, slamming my hands on the door to catch myself. I quietly curse to myself, leaning against the door to try and rub off the scuff mark on the front of my shoe, but the mark doesn’t budge. Groaning to myself and letting out a few more curses, I drop my foot. As I’m moving my foot around to inspect any other damage the door opens and I fall in, scrambling to catch my footing as hands reach out to grab me.

“Whoa,” the owner of the hands gasps, helping me stand upright once again. I hop up quickly, pushing the hands back toward whoever just saved my life and taking a step back to give myself some space to recover from the awkward moment. Adjusting my shirt, I lift my head and let out a small laugh when I see Jungwoo making a weird face at me. “So what’s with all the noise?”

I jerk my head back in confusion. “Huh?”

He gestures to the open door beside me. “I heard banging which is why I opened the door.”

I stare at the door for a moment before I realize what he means. “Oh! Sorry about that, I tripped and used the door to catch myself. I didn’t even think about the fact that someone might have heard that.”

He giggles, his nose scrunching up and I find myself mirroring the action. “You trip a lot.”

“I do,” I agree, nodding my head and moving forward to close the door behind me. “So where’s Mina?”

Jungwoo’s eyebrows furrow and he tilts his head at me, watching me as though there is more to what I asked. “She’s not here.”

It’s now my turn to look confused and I look around for a moment while I wonder what’s going on. “But she told me she was going to hang out here with Doyoung. Did they leave?”

He shakes his head with wide, confused eyes. “Mina was never here.”

My mouth falls open in surprise as I’m at a loss for words. I squint at him like the answer is hidden somewhere on his face while the gears turn in my head and less than a second my eyes widen as a gasp escapes me. Jungwoo gets startled and he jumps slightly, his eyes watching me carefully.

“Where is she?” I shout, once again startling Jungwoo, but my focus is elsewhere and I slide past him to stomp to Doyoung’s room. When I burst in he drops his phone on his face and groans, rubbing his nose. “Have you talked to Mina today?”

He scoffs, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and walking to the mirror to inspect his injured nose. “Well, hello to you too, loud ass.” He turns to me with his usual look of attitude. “Do I look like her keeper?”

I roll my eyes. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Look if you two are in another fight about who stole whose mascara, I don’t want to be a part of it and I would rather you call before visiting.”

I open my mouth to respond, but I can’t say anything without revealing that Mina has lied about her location and I refuse to break our pact. The sacred pact we made as children that if one of lies and Doyoung doesn’t know, then we keep it that way. He has always been overly protective of us, and although it is sweet and comes in handy sometimes, most times it just ends up being more work than it’s worth to let him in on whatever is going on. So I shut my mouth quickly and give him a dirty look.

“Excuse you,” I drawl, “you should be lucky I dragged my ass all the way over here and you have the honor of seeing me. I know Mina was always your favorite, but wow, try to hide it a little better,” I tease, secretly hoping he takes the bait so I can lead him off any trail he might pick up on.

Even if we lie and hide anything we don’t want Doyoung to know with the stealth of a spy, he always seems to find out somehow and I intend to distract him before he has a chance to catch on. I want to know why she lied to me of all people without Doyoung interfering and lecturing her.

I catch his eye in the mirror and I turn my head to avoid eye contact. Luckily he takes the bait, turning toward me and walking over with a sigh. “That’s not what I meant by it, and I would have said the same thing to Mina.”

I shrug nonchalantly, taking a step back. “Oh well, that’s not the point. So if you don’t know anything about Mina, then I should be going.” I give a stiff smile, turning to leave but I only manage a few steps before Doyoung catches my arm. He spins me around and gives me a look somewhere between serious and sympathetic.

“You can’t just leave.”

“But I can.” I pat his cheek lightly and give another small smile. “I was just joking Doyoung.”

I turn to leave, but he stops me again and I hold back an eye roll. “But you’ve always said that. Do you really think that?”

I sigh. “I can’t get into this right now. I have another friendship to deal with.” I turn to leave this time and he doesn’t stop me, but his face tells me that this isn’t over. While I’m lost in thought, a hand reaches out from one of the doors along the hall and pulls me into a room. The room is unfamiliar because I’ve only seen Doyoung’s, but it is a lot neater than any room Doyoung has ever lived in.

I turn around and Jungwoo is sticking his head through the doorway to look back and forth before closing it. “I think I might know where Mina is,” he blurts out quietly, talking so fast I nearly miss it. But I heard him and I blink at him a few times while I process the information.

“What?”

He takes a deep breath and speaks slower this time. “Mark has been leaving a lot lately and says he’s going to get food or going to the store, but then he’ll just come back and eat dinner or come back with nothing. I thought it was weird, but didn’t question it until you came over and Mina lied about being here.”

I blink at him. “Alright, so where do you think Mina is?”

“I think she’s at her house, but I think she’s with Mark which is why she lied about being here.” I open my mouth and he holds up a hand to stop me. “Before you say anything, I have been suspecting that Mark was talking to someone because I’ve walked into the kitchen or some part of the dorm a few times and he will hang up the phone and be jumpy. I figured he was dating someone and just didn’t want to tell anyone yet, but now it makes even more sense if he’s dating Mina.”

My eyes widen and I gasp. “Because Doyoung would lose his shit!”

Jungwoo points at me. “Exactly!”

“Oh my god, I think you’re right. Doyoung specifically told us that he ‘highly suggests - insert serious grumpy face here - that we don’t even think about dating any of you’.” I gasp again. “And I tried her to get her to go out with me and I said ‘maybe we’ll meet some cute guys’ and she said, and I quote, ‘no, I don’t need anybody, I’m happy right now’ and then proceeded to leave my apartment to go home and ‘have a night in’.”

Jungwoo nods his head along and I narrow my eyes, at the door, moving to make a swift exit. “Where are you going?” He asks, grabbing my arm.

“I want to go see it for myself. Or at least call her and give her a chance to tell me the truth one more time.”

“Do that. Call her first and see if she gives anything away willingly or accidentally. If you just go to her house and make a scene it might make everything worse,” he explains, dropping my arm, but watching me carefully.

I purse my lips and shift from foot to foot while I think about his idea. “Are you always right?”

He nods excitedly, his hair slopping around and a bright smile on his face. “Yes, I am. We just never hang out,” he replies softly.

I snort and move forward to pinch his cheeks. “You’re so cute!” His smile grows and I can see him feeding off of the attention which only makes him look cuter. “Okay, no more distractions, back to the task at hand.”

I take out my phone and pull up Mina’s contact while Jungwoo stands behind me, peeking over my shoulder. I dial the number and put it to my ear, listening to the incessant ringing as Jungwoo slowly leans in until his head is next to mine to listen to the call. The ringing stops and I hear rustling on the other side before Mina answers with an awkward hello.

I ask her a few questions about my “missing wallet” and she replies with short, distracted answers and when we end our short call I shove my phone in my back pocket, covering my face with my hands. My skin is warm from the pressure and her odd behavior. Jungwoo wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder, giving me a back hug I welcome and lean into. Always a cuddler, that he is.

“What’s wrong?”

I huff and pull away, turning to look at him. I tap my foot, staring at him and concocting a plan with myself. Jungwoo watches patiently even as I begin to pace across the room relentlessly. When I finally whip around and shout a loud ‘aha” Jungwoo jumps slightly, but steps closer, expectantly.

“She sounded weird on the phone and now I can confirm that you’re right, Mark and Mina are dating. Jungwoo, you’re a genius!” I freeze for a moment mid-hand gesture and look at Jungwoo with wild eyes. “Their couple name could be M ‘n M! I’m a genius too!” I run over and give him a dramatic high five, cradling my hand afterward to nurse the pain. Overzealous, that I am.

“So,” I continue, “I have a plan to help them because knowing those two they’re too shy and scared of Doyoung and leaving their comfort zone to tell anyone they’re together which is why they’ve been lying and sneaking around.”

“Wait,” he stops me, “how do you know they’re together? Did she tell you? Because I didn’t hear that.”

“When you know someone as long as Mina, Doyoung, and I have known each other then you pick up on all their habits and you know when something is off; and she is off. I’m just disappointed I didn’t catch it sooner. I guess I’ve just been really busy with school.” I snap my fingers. “But I’m going to help her. I’ll help both of them.”

Jungwoo looks at me with confusion swimming in his eyes. “How? What do you mean?”

“I mean I have a plan to make them feel comfortable with telling everyone. To come out as a couple and not have to worry about Doyoung.”

“But if they really don’t want to tell everyone, then they won’t, even if you try to make them feel comfortable and fix any potential problems,” Jungwoo explains.

I nod along. “Yes, I know.” I begin to pace again, m hand gestures becoming more erratic. “I’m not going to force them to tell anyone. They can keep it a secret as long as they want, I just want Doyoung to pull the stick out of his ass, so they’re not worried about him ‘disapproving’. I don’t want Mina to lie to Doyoung and I and I don’t want Mark to lie to you guys, but they’re doing it for a reason and I want them to know that when they’re ready everyone will be used to the idea of one of us dating one of you guys. Plus we can have some fun with it, maybe add a little pizazz and possibly feed the revenge that I so strongly want against Mina for lying to me and making me attempt to lie to Doyoung. Attempt meaning, he’s probably going to find out, like he finds everything out, and then he’s going to grill us both and scare the couple. Lord knows those two are like deer in headlights.”

Jungwoo snickers. “So what’s the plan? How are you going to make them comfortable with the idea of a couple.”

I turn to Jungwoo with a smile and gesture between me and him, wiggling my eyebrows and giving a wink. His eyebrows furrow, but when the realization crosses his face he begins smiling and clapping.

“Us? I’m included?” I nod and he hops a few times. “I’m a part of the secret mission. Yay.”

“Yes, we are now-” I walk up and give him a high five and fist bump, assuring him we’ll come up with a secret handshake later, “- the dynamic duo and we are going undercover as a couple to prepare these losers for the real relationship they won’t see coming.”

“Can we have code names?”

My smile drops and I sigh. “Can our code names act as our terms of endearment as well?”

“Yeah, that will work! I’ll be Junguwu,” he says softly, smiling until his eyes close with joy. He looks at me again and lets out a small gasp. “And I’ll call you cinnamon roll.”

I nod my head once, crossing my arms. “Alright works for me, let’s set this plan in action, Junguwu.”


	2. Step 1: Distract

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not edited. Sorry.

The next few weeks Jungwoo and I meet up at my place or we go out for food or to the dorm to learn as much as we can about each other before we come out as a “couple”. My favorite is when we’re at the dorm and Doyoung sees me or tries talking to me, but when Jungwoo comes down I tell him we have plans and the face he makes is priceless. I want a large photo of his face hung up on my wall to laugh at whenever I please. Does this make me a bad friend, I ask myself for a moment. No, because he laughs every time I fall. This makes us even.

Today is one of the days we meet at the dorms and the day we tell everyone that we’re “dating”. The boys have a day off and Mina told me she was going to hang out with Doyoung, which was, of course, a lie, so I obnoxiously invited myself along. She is forced to hang out at the dorm with us and witness the beginning of a beautiful “relationship”. I am the last one to arrive and I knock on the door, then quickly text Jungwoo of my arrival so he can prepare for his part.

The door opens and Doyoung appears with a tight-lipped smile. “____,” he greets.

I roll my eyes and step inside, patting his chest. “So formal, Doyoungie. As if you haven’t known me most of your life.”

He chuckles, shutting the door behind me. “Just feel like I haven’t seen you in a while.” He places his hand on my back to lead me down the hall, giving me a side eye.

“You’ve been seeing me a lot, what are you talking about? I’ve been coming over a lot more lately,” I point out.

He shakes his head. “But not to see me.” He stops me before we enter the room with everyone else. “Is this punishment for the last real conversation we had?”

I feign confusion and tilt my head. “What do you mean.”

“You know what I mean. Don’t play dumb about this because you don’t want to talk about it. If that’s how you really feel, then we should talk about it and if that’s why you’ve been avoiding me lately, then I want to know.”

I give him a small smile and continue walking to the room, stopping in the doorway to look over my shoulder. “You’ll find out.”

I enter the room and when I see Mina she stands up to give me a hug pretending not to be incredibly awkward when Mark is sitting right across the room and they can’t be couple-y. I sit beside her and listen in on the conversation happening around me. Doyoung enters the room and sits next to me, giving me a look as he does so. I avoid his gaze but manage a small smile when Jungwoo casually enters the room from the other hall and I can practically hear Doyoung’s eyes roll.

We give each other a quick look but refrain from giving anything away quite yet while he disappears in the direction of the kitchen. The room is around me is lively and filled with laughter, but the tension on our couch between Mina, Doyoung, and I is nearly suffocating and I wish I could telepathically tell Jungwoo to hurry the hell up. Somehow Jungwoo appears back in the room, water bottle in hand, only a moment later and I wonder for a brief second if we have linked telepathically. The thought is gone as quickly as it came and Jungwoo walks over to me with a big smile, pulling me up off the couch into a hug, something I’ve come to learn he does a lot, even if we’re not in the middle of a plan.

The chatter around us continues, but the volume drops considerably and all the eyes in the room turn to us, however, none burn my skin more than the gaze of my best friends behind me. When we pull away and greet each other, I can tell that everyone is trying to stay casual and not make a big deal, but the stares are more than obvious.

“So are you two like best friends now?” Doyoung grits out behind me.

I turn around, standing beside Jungwoo and when I begin speaking the entire room falls silent. “Not quite.” I slide my hand down his arm until our hands touch and I slip my hand into his, intertwining our fingers. “We’re actually dating.” This is the moment I want to remember for the rest of eternity. I want to have this moment on repeat in my brain at all times like background music.

Doyoung’s face goes pale immediately, all color and emotion wiped off his face like a blank canvas, the room is so silent you could hear a pin drop, and Mina’s mouth falls open, small squeak coming out. Jungwoo and I look at each other, sharing loving smiles, filled with adoration and happiness, observing every detail of one another’s faces. It’s about a minute before Mina closes her mouth and Doyoung re-enters reality, standing from the couch faster than lightning and opening his mouth only to let out a panicked shout.

Over the next few minutes, he lets out nothing but intermittent shouts, running his hands through his hair and pacing the room to look at everyone in shock. He seems to be silently asking them if he’s really seeing what he thinks he’s seeing, but it just ends up coming across as vaguely psychotic. When he finally stops in front of us again, his mouth close but eyes are blown wide and everyone stares with crippling anticipation.

He reaches forward, ripping our hands apart and holding them up in the air away from each other so he can stand between us. “No!” He shouts with the expected level of panic seeping into his tone. “What is this? What do you mean? What did I tell you?”

“What are you talking about?” I ask him, pretending like the memories of Doyoung lecturing Mina and I about dating his members haven’t already come flooding in.

Jungwoo looks at me in panic as well and I can see the anxiety clouding his eyes so I take matters into my own hands before Doyoung can answer. “Okay, let’s calm down. Doyoung let go of our hands and take a deep breath.” He reluctantly drops our hands but pulls me away into the kitchen.

He paces around me, finally stopping a few feet away and staring at me in confusion. “What are you doing? Are you doing this to punish me?”

I roll my eyes. Always so dramatic. “No, Doyoung this isn’t about you. This is about Jungwoo and me.” Lie. But he doesn’t need to know quite yet that this is really about Mina and Mark.

“But I told you two specifically that you weren’t allowed to date any of the group members.”

“Well, it’s not like it happened on purpose.” Lie. I shake my head and gesture toward the exit. “Sometimes things just happen, but at least we told you about it and didn’t try to hide it.” A small jab at Mina for lying to me.

“This is like my worst nightmare come true,” he groans, aggressively sweeping his hands through his hair, leaving it sticking up in all directions.

I roll my eyes again. The drama is exhausting sometimes. “It’s really not the end of the world. Plus you might want to get used to it as soon as possible because this is official now and I don’t want you interfering in any way. Now let’s go back out there we have a confused audience and worried Jungwoo.”

I exit the kitchen with Doyoung hot on my heels and when we return Jungwoo watches Doyoung behind me with wide, fearful eyes and I wave my hand behind me. When I stop beside him, I lean in close and whisper quietly enough for only Jungwoo to hear. “Don’t worry about him, I can deal with him, but we should make ourselves scarce soon.”

I pull away and he nods at me, swallowing thickly and I watch his Adam’s apple bob for a moment before averting my gaze. The group is chattering around us once again, everyone except Mark and Mina who sit on opposite ends of the room frozen in shock. They take turns glancing at one another, then at Jungwoo and I, then back to one another. This goes on the remaining time Jungwoo and I stand off to the side of the room, listening to the surprise of everyone and their stories of suspicion that we were dating, some dating back to before we even came up with the plan, which manages to pique my interest.

How long do they think we’ve been dating for?

I shake my head of any other thoughts and smile at everyone, bidding our goodbyes and pulling Jungwoo out of the room. Giving one final wave and smile to a fuming Doyoung and frazzled Mina, I disappear, running down the hall with Jungwoo and barging into his room. As soon as the door closes we fall into loud fits of laughter, tripping over each other to fall onto the bed and recover from the scene.

“That was one of my favorite things that I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life,” I sigh dreamily, replaying the shock on my best friends’ faces. The sweet revenge for every time they’ve medalled in my life; I finally get to give them a taste of what they make me suffer through.

Jungwoo looks at me like I’m crazy and laughs abruptly before shaking his head. “I thought his head was going to pop off for a second there.”

I turn over onto my stomach, resting my cheek on my hands and watch him as he stares at the ceiling. “Yeah. I could see the fear in your eyes and hear the panic in your voice. Luckily I know how to deal with him so you don’t have to.”

“Not exactly. We’re in the same group. We’re together all the time! We live together; you’re going to leave, but I’m sleeping in the same building as him.”

“Yeah, but if he gives you any trouble - which I highly doubt he will - then just call me and I’ll be over to put him in timeout before you can worry your pretty little head about,” I assure him, rustling his hair while he laughs and nuzzles into my hands like a cat.

We lay in silence for a few more moments before Jungwoo speaks up again. “But don’t you think his reaction scared Mark and Mina? I mean his reaction was a bit intense.”

I sigh. “Yeah, in a way I think it did, but that’s why we’re doing this. If we soften him up and get him used to the idea, then when they come out as a couple it won’t be a big deal. We’re the guinea pigs.” He turns his head to look at me and we stare at each other for a moment. “Plus I think they were more shocked that they weren’t the only secret couple because to everyone else this relationship is real and they’re shocked, even if some of them claim to have seen it coming. Little do they know they’re lying about predicting a fake relationship. How embarrassing.”

Jungwoo snorts and lets out his usual giggle, gazing back up at the ceiling. “So you really think we can pull this off and our plan will succeed?”

I shrug, then realize he’s not looking at me. “I think we can, we’ll probably have struggles, but I think we’re smart and skilled enough to pull this off. And no offense to literally all of our friends, but they’re getting too caught up in the emotional investment of a relationship to use their brain. As long as we keep up our stealthy antics, I’m sure we can outsmart them all and complete this secret mission.”

“You’re taking this very seriously,” he notes.

“Yeah, well I’m on break from school now, so I don’t have a lot going on and Mina’s lying and Doyoung’s possessive, controlling nature really struck a nerve with me, so I want to have a little fun with them now.”

He nods his head, shooting me a blinding smile. “Fun.”

Now it’s my turn to snort. “Also we’re distracting Doyoung from eventually exposing Mark and Mina’s relationship before they’re ready, so we’re doing them a favor that they won’t even know to thank us for. We’re giving them the gift of time to go sneak off and be a secret couple and remain unbothered before the comeback all while letting them come out on their own and adjusting Doyoung to the idea. Wow, we’re pretty fucking great if I say so myself.”

“Agreed,” Jungwoo adds joyfully. “So why is Doyoung so protective over you and Mina?”

I shuffle farther so I can lean against his headboard and he follows me eagerly, laying his head in my lap and placing my hand in his hair. I begin to mindlessly run my hands through his hair while I contemplate his question. “Well, we’ve all known each other forever, so he says it’s just because he wants the best for us and he will always protect us no matter what, but he’s also mentioned over time that we’re his ‘precious, innocent friends’ and it’s his job to fight away the evil.”

“But Mark and I aren’t evil. None of us are evil, yet he’s so set on you two not dating any of us,” Jungwoo points out and I nod along, running my nails against his scalp and his mouth falls open.

“Yeah, I know! And he knows that, so I don’t know why he’s so strict and weird about it. Or why he even has the rule in the first place. Either way, there might be more to it that he doesn’t want to tell anyone, which is whatever I guess, but I’m not gonna follow his rules.”

Jungwoo leans his head back to look at me and gives me a mischievous smile that contradicts his sparkling eyes. “That’s brave of you.”

“Hm,” I hum, reaching for his remote, “I like to think I am. It’s nice to hear.” I smile down at him and turn the T.V on, waiting for it to load. “What do you want to watch?”

He shrugs and snuggles his head against my lap and closer to my fingers. I rub them against his head harder and he hums like the cat he is. “I don’t know, put on anything. I’ll probably end up falling asleep anyway; you give the best head massages.”

“Hmm, you just seem to think I’m the best,” I tease, clicking on a movie and sitting back to get comfortable.

“Yeah, you’re pretty cool.”

“Oh gee, thanks.”

About an hour later, there is a knock on the door and I say a quick “come in” and pausing the movie. As soon as Doyoung and Mina appear, I hold a finger to my lips and point to the sleeping Jungwoo on my lap. Mina looks surprised at first, but becomes infatuated with the sight, pulling out her phone to take unwanted pictures. Doyoung, on the other hand, looks like he’s about to explode and I have to keep my smirk to myself.

“Can I help you two?” I whisper just loud enough for them to hear.

Doyoung frowns, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, we were going to ask if you two wanted food, but apparently one of you is unconscious,” he answers, speaking at normal volume and ending his reply with a glare at Jungwoo’s limp body. I never once thought it would be possible for Doyoung to glare at Jungwoo or even be upset with him, yet here I am, witnessing the world-ending event in person. Tragic.

“Did Taeyong cook?” I ask quietly. Doyoung nods and glares down at my lap again and I follow his gaze and realize I’m stroking Jungwoo’s hair again. “Alright, I’ll wake him up and we’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Doyoung grunts, leaving the room as quickly as he arrived and Mina takes one last picture while giggling before following behind him. Once the door is closed, I slowly shake Jungwoo until his eyes flutter open, wide eyes looking into mine through a fog of grogginess. He hums, stretching his body out as far as possible, then blinking up at me with a lazy smile.

“Taeyong made food and I figured it would be rude if I decided to roll you off of me and go down alone.” I slide him off my legs and climb off the bed, stretching my own body now because he’s heavier than he looks and both my legs fell asleep. “Doyoung came in to tell us and I can tell that he’s already losing his mind.”

Jungwoo sits up, swinging his legs off the bed and frowning at me. “That definitely doesn’t sound like a good thing. We’re supposed to be warming him up to the idea.” He runs his hands through his hair a few times, shaking his head afterward to get his hair back into place. I admire his fluffy hair for a moment, wishing my hair would flip that neatly.

“It’s going to take a while. He has to get angry and bothered before we can really show him how much we ‘love each other’ and get him emotionally invested in us to break him down. That’s why we have a plan and we’re in this long-term.” I grab his hands and pull him up, dragging him behind me toward the door. We walk to the kitchen hand-in-hand, swinging our arms softly and stopping along the edge of the room, watching everyone get their food before sitting down or standing where they are to start devouring their food.

I catch Doyoung standing in the far corner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and glaring between Jungwoo and I. I give a small wave and a smile to bother him and it works because he looks away with a mocking wave to grab a bowl and grumpily get his own food.

I giggle with Jungwoo and pull him into the kitchen with me when everyone is done serving themselves food, but Taeyong insists on serving us our food to celebrate “the happy couple”. I feel a small pang of guilt for lying to him while he is being so sweet, but I remember that it’s for a greater cause and thank him with a smile. After he leaves with his own bowl and Jungwoo and I are left with our food, I glance at him and realize instantly that he feels just as guilty as I do. I sigh and drag him farther away from his, so we stand against the wall with a bit more privacy.

“We’ll get to tell him soon enough.”

He stirs his food around, taking a bite and mulling over my statement as he chews. “I know, but it still feels weird to have to pretend and lie.”

“I know,” I agree, just as sullen, shoving food in my mouth to suppress my guilt. “But when it’s over and Doyoung is chill, or at least as chill as his personality allows, then we can tell them the truth and hope that they understand.”

He nods and we eat in silence for a few minutes before I look up and find some of the guys staring at us curiously and I raise a brow. They look away, but occasionally glance over at us and whisper to each other. I roll my eyes, dragging Jungwoo over to them so they can ask the questions I know they’re dying to spit out. Luckily I prepared for this which is why we hung out ahead of time and learned everything we could about each other - possibly too much, but that’s okay. We are dating after all; might as well get it all out sooner rather than later.


	3. Step 2: Observe and Imitate

“Did you find out where they’re going tonight?” I ask Jungwoo, biting into the apple and plopping onto the couch next to him. His eyes remain on the T.V., enraptured with whatever movie is on. I wait for an answer, but it never comes and I roll my eyes as I take another bite. “Well, where are they going?”

He turns his head to me as far as possible while still keeping his eyes on the screen and I scoff, leaning forward to pause the movie. Jungwoo turns to me, finally offering all his attention. “They’re going to an arcade.”

He watches me take another bite of my apple with big eyes, his attention no longer on the movie, but focused on getting what I have now. He pouts and taps his lips, glancing up at me for a moment before returning his gaze to the apple in my hand. I shake my head, but he does it again and gives a small whine. I purse my lips, giving in, of course, because how do you deny someone so damn cute? I lift the apple to his lips and he takes an unnecessarily large bite and I gasp loudly on instinct.

“Jungwoo! You didn’t need to take that big of a bite,” I complain, holding the apple farther away from him and glaring. He simply smiles at me while busily chewing. “Do you know what time?” He shakes his head and I sigh. “Great.”

“But Mark is recording until like 6 I think so give him about half an hour to get ready and manage to sneak out to meet Mina; maybe like 7,” Jungwoo responds. I process the timeline and nod, bringing the apple up to take another bite, but Jungwoo grabs my wrist and pulls the apple to his mouth, taking another large bite. My mouth drops open in disbelief, but quickly purses in annoyance.

He simply smiles at me once again, letting out a small hum of satisfaction. I reach for the remote and turn the movie off to which he gasps, the half-chewed apple nearly falling out of his mouth. I smirk at him and tilt my head, mocking his earlier gloating. Getting up from the couch, I throw the rest of the apple on his lap and he happily begins eating it. “That’s in a few hours so just make sure you’re ready by then.”

With a final nod from him, I disappear into the kitchen to start making us dinner.

\--------------

We enter the arcade after paying for our coins and I quickly scan the floor we’re on for Mark and Mina. If they see us first, then we’re screwed, and I can’t have us getting caught and ruining our entire plan. I grab Jungwoo’s arm and lead him through the arcade games until we’re fairly hidden, but still have a good view of the entrance. Jungwoo immediately puts a couple coins in a driving game and sits down, patting the seat beside him. I shake my head, but he only pats the seat with more determination, raising his eyebrows as if to dare me to object.

“Jungwoo, I have to watch for Mark and Mina. Have you already forgotten why we’re here?”

“We’re here fifteen minutes early. They could take another thirty minutes for all we know,” he argues, gesturing to the arcade around us. “Might as well use our time for some fun; we have coins and everything.”

He smirks at me, raising his eyebrows once again, both enticing and annoying me. I roll my eyes and sit down in the car next to him, slipping my own coins in the machine and preparing myself for a competition. He can really get me to do anything with that face of his. When the match starts it’s even more competitive than I thought, however, Jungwoo remains silent while I grunt and squeal every time we steal the lead from one another. He lets out a breathy laugh every once in a while, but at one point I’m so enraptured with the game, I forget he’s sitting next to me. The game ends and Jungwoo wins, crossing the finish line a second before me and I stare at the screen in shock. He quietly cheers for himself, doing a little victory dance while I slump back in my chair, defeated.

“Well, this is no fun,” I pout, standing from the seat and walking away. Jungwoo laughs, catching up to me and grabbing my arm. He turns me around to face him and I continue pouting, avoiding eye contact, so he gently takes hold of my face and tilts it up to look at his.

He has a small smile, gracing his lips and a happy look in his eyes. “There’s no need to pout. It was still fun, just because you lost doesn’t mean your mood needs to drop.” He squishes my cheeks and shakes my head until I smack his hands away to release me.

“Easy for you to say, you won.”

“No need for a pity party, I’m sure there’s another game you could win if you get in the spirit.” He laughs at my pout and as I turn around I spot Mark and Mina walking in, hands interlocked and smiles brightening their faces.

I freeze mid-step causing Jungwoo to slam into my back and a small grunt to fall past my lips. My eyes widen and I begin cursing myself for not being more conscious of my surroundings because they could have seen us and the whole plan would have been ruined. I quickly turn around, slapping a hand over Jungwoo’s mouth before he can say anything and back him up until we’re concealed behind one of the arcade games. He raises his eyebrows at me in surprise but does not fight the temporary muzzle.

I peek around the corner one more time to find the couple pre-occupied with buying coins. “Mark and Mina just got here and if they had a looked up a second sooner they would have seen us.”

Jungwoo’s mouth falls open in understanding. “Well, that would have ended our undercover work pretty fast.”

I glare at him and he smiles. “Yeah, this is exactly why I said to lay low and not get distracted, but you wanted to play games.”

“You were the one pouting and walking away when we almost got caught.”

I frown and avoid his accusing gaze. “But we still shouldn’t have been playing games.”

Jungwoo scoffs and digs in his pocket before pulling his hand out and shoving his handful of coins in my face. “We bought these coins for a reason,” he tells me as he shoves them back in his pocket. Then he adds, “And we deserve to go out and have fun too, why are they the only ones allowed to have fun.”

“Well, they are the ones on a date, we’re just here to confirm our suspicions and observe.”

He waves his hand at my words, dismissing my argument. “You’re taking it too seriously. We’re still allowed to have fun.”

“But they’re trying to keep their relationship a secret and if they run into us while they’re on a date, then we’re not being very good friends.”

“Well, are we being good friends by spying on them?”

I open and close my mouth a few times, looking for the right words. “We’re just trying to keep an eye on them. And we’re faking an entire relationship to take the brunt of all Doyoung’s negative energy so they don’t have to when they decide to come out as a couple. So yeah I think we’re pretty good friends.”

He holds up his hands. “I’m not trying to start a fight or argue about this, I’m just saying we should have fun too.”

I sigh and peek around the corner again, watching Mark grab Mina’s hand and lead her to the far side of the room. “Okay. Then let’s go upstairs to play some games while they’re across the room, but we’ll still have to be sure they don’t see us.”

He quickly grabs my hand as Mark had with Mina moments before, but Jungwoo practically drags me behind him as he weaves between arcade machines and up the stairs. When we reach a machine he deems fun, he releases my hand and begins inserting his coins. I watch as he laughs manically every time he aims his gun and shoots successfully, earning a spot in the top 10 by the end of the game. Jungwoo suddenly turns to me, beaming with excitement. I raise my eyebrows and give him a thumbs up, but he has other plans and quickly pulls me into a hug, nearly squeezing the life out of me and leaving me panting.

He grabs his tickets and begins searching the room for the next game. “So what I’m getting from you kicking ass at the two machines you’ve played on is that you’re some sort of professional arcade gamer?”

He shrugs, his eyes lighting up as he spots his next target. “I guess I just have good luck because I’m a positive person, unlike someone else in the room,” he replies, distracted by the games. I have a flashback to ten minutes ago when he first grabbed my hand and dragged me behind him as the same incident plays out and I’m released in front of an air hockey table.

I huff and cross my arms. “I’m a positive person too, I’m just under a lot of stress right now.”

“Are you though?” Jungwoo questions as he focuses on inserting his coins and grabbing the thin puck.

“Yes, being undercover is very stressful.”

“That’s not the statement I was questioning,” he replies with a smirk before he hits the puck and it glides over the surface toward his goal and I quickly smack it back to his side before he scores a point.

“Play nice,” I warn him before I hit the puck and it glides smoothly into his side so I score a point. “Yes, I got a point!”

“See? That’s what positivity does, it changes lives,” Jungwoo replies, placing the puck on the table and smacking it across to my side. We play back and forth and until I beat him by one point, immediately tossing my arms in the air.

“I did it! I won,” I cheer, waving my hands and flinging my body around in an attempt at a victory dance.

“Positivity,” Jungwoo simply replies.

“Yeah okay, Mr. Sunshine, but the point here is that I’m coming for your spot as-” I’m suddenly cut off when Jungwoo slaps his hand over my mouth and quickly collects me in his arms, running to a pillar a few feet away. When we’re successfully hidden he peeks around the side before hiding himself once again. “What? Is it them?”

I move to peek, but he grabs my arms, holding me in place and shaking his head. “I saw them start walking up the stairs, so I tried to be as quick and quiet as possible without them noticing. Luckily, they’re so distracted by each other I don’t think they would notice if a fire broke out.”

I snort. “Young love will do that to you. We should keep an eye on them for a little while. I wonder what stage they’re at in their relationship. Do you think they’ve kissed? Told their families? Met each other’s families? Stayed at each other’s houses?” I question enthusiastically, smacking Jungwoo’s arm with each thought as I peek around the corner to watch the couple smile at each other as they wait for their turn at a game.

“I have no idea, but you’re not being very inconspicuous,” he reprimands, pulling me into hiding once again.

“I thought you were the one who was relaxed and nonchalant about getting caught.”

“Looks like the tables turned when you won air hockey.”

\------------

This goes on a for a couple more weeks. Mark and Mina go out on dates, Jungwoo and I are either creeping nearby or distracting the boys so no questions their coincidental absences. Although we’ve mutually agreed to focus more on distracting the boys with our “relationship” as opposed to imposing on theirs. And our fake relationship leads to us spending more time together than the actual couple in order for us to keep up the act.

Tonight we were out with Doyoung on a “date” so we can continue warming him up to the idea of his best friends dating. Little does he know this is all a ruse and the real couple was off doing whatever it is those two lovebirds do. He was still annoyed, possibly even disgusted, with the idea of us dating, but luckily we’re not actually dating so his reaction has no effect on us. But if Mark and Mina - the actual couple - had come out and Doyoung acted this way, his reaction could have actually interfered with their relationship which is why we’re doing this. He needs to get used to the idea and I need to have a talk with him about how unsupportive and damaging his behavior can be on a relationship.

As soon as we enter Jungwoo’s room, I kick off my shoes and speed over to his bed to lay down. My body eases into the mattress and I close my eyes, my lips stretching into a smile of content and satisfaction, a small sigh slipping out. The bed dips beside me and I feel the heat from Jungwoo’s body. He rolls over and throws his arm over me, nudging his face into the crook of my neck.

About ten minutes pass before I hear soft snores in my ear paired with little puffs of air on my neck every time he exhales. Of course, I have to pee after he falls asleep on me. I attempt to push his arm off of me and slip off the bed without disturbing his sleeping form, but as soon as I lift his arm off me he begins stirring. Only moments later his eyes flutter open, falling on me, halfway hanging off the bed and he sits up, confusion evident on his face.

“What’s going on?” He questions groggily.

“I have to pee,” I answer simply, aware that he is in no state to hear a longer answer.

He stares at me for a moment before nodding. “Alright, well then I should change anyway.”

With that, I dismiss myself and head straight for the bathroom down the hall because my bladder is one second away from betraying me. As soon as I’m finished there is a knock at the door and I quickly open it once I’ve finished drying my hands. Jaehyun stands on the other side and when he turns he looks surprised to see me.

“Oh, hi. I wasn’t expecting to see you here, I thought you went home. Are you staying the night?” He asks with a smile, stepping to the side to let me pass.

I nod my head. “Yeah, I figured it would be less tiring than going all the way home since it’s late.”

He gives me a nod and another small smile, his dimples more prominent. “That’s a good idea.” He points behind him to the end of the hallway where I can hear the faint discussions of the rest of the boys - one of which is a cranky Doyoung. “We were going to watch a movie if you and Jungwoo are interested in joining unless you’re tired or busy.”

I contemplate the offer for a moment and decide that I’m less tired than I was before I went to the bathroom, so I might as well join in on a movie. “Yeah, that sounds nice. I’ll see what Jungwoo wants to do since he was the one falling asleep anyway.”

“Well, I’ll see you out there.” He slips into the bathroom and I make my way back to Jungwoo’s room to find him laying back in the same position with the same clothes still on. I roll my eyes and stop beside the bed, watching him sleep soundly. Should I wake up? Might as well.

I shake his arm and he immediately turns over and looks up at me, blinking repeatedly. “I’m going to go out and watch a movie with the boys, did you want to watch with us?” While I wait for him to process the question, I walk to his closet and pick out a shirt and sweats, walking back to the bed to place them beside Jungwoo.

He rubs his eyes, looking at the clothes, then at me. “Sure. Let me change and I’ll meet you out there.”

“Really? Are you sure you’re not going to fall asleep again?”

He waves his hand at me and stands from the bed. “Yeah, don’t worry. Just go save me a seat.”

He begins to lift his shirt and I immediately turn around, scampering to the door and making as fast of an exit as possible. That boy has no shame sometimes and it continues to surprise me, given his anxiety-prone, low-volumed nature. As I reach the main room, the boys are lounging around the couches, talking and laughing while Taeyong is setting up the movie. I spot a seat on the center couch, next to Taeil, but there is only one seat. I decide that I’ll hold this seat for Jungwoo because he will inevitably fall asleep.

I feel eyes on the side of my face and I look around, locking eyes with Doyoung who gives me a quick glare before turning his attention to Taeyong. I click my tongue in annoyance but quickly become distracted when Jungwoo enters the room, giving everyone a tired smile. He spots me and shuffles over. I stand up, allowing him to comfortably plop on the cushion and as I’m lowering myself to sit on the floor beside him, he grabs my hips and pulls me back to fall between his legs. I gasp, surprised at the action, but also shocked that he did it in front of everyone. We have tried to avoid any excessive signs of physical affection, but right now it seems as though we actually are dating and this is completely natural. Although, I guess in a way it is because he does stuff like this with the boys all the time, so it does come naturally to him; he is an affectionate person.

He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder, getting himself comfortable. I catch sight of Doyoung out of the corner of my eye and looks like a man ready to exact revenge at any moment. Suddenly, I’m glad I’m in front of Jungwoo so I can protect him from the death glare being sent at us. The movie begins playing and within twenty minutes Taeil is knocked out beside us and Jungwoo follows soon after, his head laying on the back of the couch and his mouth slightly parted.

At some point, I must have knocked out as well because I wake up the next morning curled up in Jungwoo’s lap, except now my face is resting on a pillow and a blanket covers the both of us. I immediately recognize the blanket, seeing as I’m the one who gifted it to Doyoung for Christmas two years ago, but I thought he got rid of it because I haven’t seen it since I gave it to him. I rub my hand over the material and smile to myself, remembering that my idol best friend is still the same boy who cried when we all watched The Lion King together. Rubbing my eyes I stand from Jungwoo’s lap, pulling the blanket and pillow with me. I shake Jungwoo awake, something I find myself doing rather often, and sits up looking at me with wild eyes.

“What’s going on?” he rasps, standing from the couch and looking around worriedly.

“Nothing. We fell asleep on the couch last night, go back to your room to sleep.”

“You’re not coming?” He questions, his eyes struggling to focus on me through the fog of sleep.

I shake my head, leading him to the hallway. “No, I’m going to talk to Doyoung.”

Jungwoo stares at me for a moment, his mind processing my words, and he finally nods, disappearing down the hall and into his room. I turn to face Doyoung’s door, lifting my hand to softly knock. When I hear a faint “come in” I open the door slowly, revealing Doyoung’s cramped room. He sits on a chair with his back to me but tells me to close the door behind me.

“How did you know it was me?”

“You’re the only person that knocks,” he replies, continuing whatever it is that he’s doing.

I smile and place the pillow at the end of the bed, curling up in a ball under the blanket. I watch him as he finishes putting together a lamp, turning it on and off to test it before placing it on the small table. He admires the object for a moment, hands on his hips and a small accomplished smile present on his lips. He turns to me and sits on the corner of the bed, moving my feet onto his lap and staring at me expectantly.

“So you’ve gone soft?” I ask him with a hint of a smirk on my face.

He gives me a look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you left the blanket I got you-” I lift it up slightly to show him, “that haven’t seen you use in the two years you’ve had it, on Jungwoo and I - a supposed relationship you despise and disapprove of.”

He sighs and runs his fingertips over my ankle. “Do you know why I don’t approve of the relationship?”

“Because you don’t want two people that are basically your family to start dating?”

“No, because I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I sigh. “Well, yeah, I know you don’t want us to get hurt-”

“No, you specifically.” When I raise my eyebrows at him in question he stares at the wall straight ahead. “I want to protect you both, but if I’m being honest, Mina is a lot quieter and reserved, but I’ve always worried about you far more. You don’t like to show it or admit it, but you feel everything deeply, especially pain, then you internalize it and refuse to open up about what you’re feeling and I can’t stand to see either of you in pain. I worry for you all the time because you if you get hurt, you won’t let me help you and I hate it. I made the rule so if anything goes wrong, you won’t be hurt, and it wouldn’t be by someone else I love. I don’t want to see two of my best friends in pain because of each other.”

His voice becomes quiet until if drops off completely, silence hanging in the air. My mind is in shock, frozen at the confession, but my heart is in overdrive, breaking at the thought of him stressing so much over me - this is exactly why I don’t talk about my problems. I feel terrible, but my mind is still having trouble processing and I can’t seem to speak.

“And a few weeks ago, when you said that I like Mina better… it hurt. I only want to be the best me and that includes being the best friend I can be and if I’ve made you feel like I like Mina better, then I’m incredibly sorry, truly, but I don’t. I love you both equally and I could never have a favorite or love one of you more. I’m sorry if I hurt you, that’s not my intention and I feel terrible that you even had the thought of me liking her more.”

My mind doesn’t need to think for my body to lunge forward, tackling him in a hug that catches him off guard and nearly sends us both flying off the bed. He wraps his arms around me instinctively, balancing us in the process. I nuzzle my face in his neck, breathing in his familiar scent and squeezing him in hopes that he can feel all the love and admiration I hold for him because words are still failing me.

He pulls my head away from him, his warm palms framing my face and rubs his thumbs along my cheeks, a look of pain crossing his features. I notice teardrops, rolling down the skin of his neck and I realize I’m crying, his words affecting me more than I realized.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble through a choked sob. He shushes me, pulling me back into a hug and rocking me as I cry into his neck. I’m reminded of how much we all truly love each other and how terrible I am at being a friend. The idea that I’ve hurt him or made him worry repulses me and I begin to cry harder, my chest constricting with every thought that attacks me.

“Doyoung, I’m sorry. I’m-” I take a deep breath, attempting to talk through the lump in my throat, “you’re such a great friend and I didn’t mean it. You’re too good for me and you’re always looking out for me and taking care of me and I am so grateful, but I never know how to tell you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. I should. I need to. You deserve to be thanked and admired and praised like Mina does for you, but I don’t. I never do.”

“That’s not true,” he argues.

I pull away and wipe at my face rather aggressively. “Yes, it is. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I know that’s all I’m saying, but it’s all I can think right now because I never realized how much pressure I put on you as a friend. I never realized you feel such obligation to watch over me and I’m sorry I didn’t recognize it.”

He remains silent, simply holding me against him and letting me cry until my body becomes exhausted and I have no tears left to cry. Eventually, I pull away and he wipes my tears away, giving me a chance to gather my thoughts.

“I-”

He cuts me off, “Why don’t you go get some more sleep and we can talk later, then maybe we can talk with Jungwoo as well and we can clear everything up.” He grabs my hands, lifting me off the bed and I drag the blanket with me.

“Can I take the blanket? I mean it’s not like you’re going to use,” I joke.

He cracks a small smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually I do. When it gets really cold I like to use.” My mouth parts in surprise and he shakes his head. “But you can use it, of course, you are the one who gave it to me.”

I nod my head. “Okay, thanks. Why I haven’t I ever seen you use it though?” Doyoung begins pushing me to the door while I continue pestering him with questions. “Were you trying to hide it from me? Were you ashamed? Was it on purpose? How did you hide it from me for two years?”

 

He finally pushes me out the door and I open my mouth, but he beats me to it. “Rest.” Then he shuts the door and I stare at it for a moment before shuffling down the hall with the blanket draped across my shoulders. I slowly open Jungwoo’s door and find him asleep on top of the covers. Closing the door behind me, I creep to the bed and carefully lie down next to him, covering both of us with the blanket and allowing myself to relax into the mattress. Jungwoo stirs in his sleep and rolls closer to me, his warmth a comfort that lulls me to sleep.

\--------------

When I open my eyes the sun is shining through the window and I sit up, pulling the blanket off my overheated skin. The room is empty and I pad down the hall to find Jungwoo and Doyoung sitting on the couch. Jungwoo smiles at me and Doyoung watches my face, expressionless.

“He said he’s okay with us,” Jungwoo announces with a blinding smile. He drops his eye in a wink, signaling the small secret victory we’ve obtained.

I stop in front of them and cross my arms, staring at Doyoung. “Okay with us like he’ll tolerate our relationship or like he’s willing to support us?”

He sighs and rolls his eyes. “Yes, I’m willing to support you two in your relationship because I realize there is nothing I can do to stop you at this point considering my rule didn’t work. I have no choice but to be a good, understanding friend and support you in your relationship, even if it is increasing the speed of my aging.”

I lean forward and pull him into a smothering hug, cradling his head back and forth. “Oh, thank you Doyoungie,” I coo as he attempts to stop me. “Thank you so much for your blessing, we could have never been a couple without it. Oh wait, we already are.”

He pulls me off of him, sending me one of his famous glares and I giggle at his attempt to intimidate me, squishing his cheeks instead. Someone walks into the room and I turn my head, hands still squishing Doyoung’s cheeks, to see Mark standing frozen and confused.

“Uh, what’s going on?” He asks, eyeing the three of us.

“Doyoung finally approves and supports our relationship,” Jungwoo announces once again, raising his hands in the air.

Mark looks caught off guard more than anything. “What? Really?”

Doyoung smacks my hands off his face and I frown but listen intently to his next words. “Yes, I’ve decided to be a supportive friend and accept that if they want to date, then that is their decision as adults and there is nothing I can do to stop them.”

Mark’s mouth falls open in surprise and he stares at the three of us for a moment, silence filling the room. “Oh, well, then I’ll leave you two to your talking.” With those final words, he scurries away, probably telling Mina about the situation and I glance at Jungwoo who gives me a sly smile and an eyebrow raise.

Doyoung pushes me back so he can stand and says that he’s going to his room because he needs alone time. As soon as I hear his door close, I jump on the couch next to Jungwoo and smack his leg repeatedly. “Can you believe it? We did it! Our plan is working perfectly, oh my god! We’re amazing!”

We high five and Jungwoo begins to cheer with me, his face a look of happiness and excitement. “I know, I can’t believe it. I never thought he was going to crack, but he did and Mark knows. Do you think he told Mina?”

“Probably. I mean, I hope so. He better because we went through all of this so they can have it easy as a real couple and god damn they better not take advantage of all our hard work.”

“So what’s the next step?”

I sigh and tap my finger on my chin, contemplating the question. “I guess, just waiting until they come out as a couple because there isn’t much more we can do.”

“So does that mean we’re going to expose ourselves once they open up?” He asks and I turn my gaze to him, leaning my head on my hand.

I shrug my shoulders. “We probably should.”

He nods, staring at his hands. The realization hits me hard and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I don’t want to stop being a fake couple.


	4. Step 3: The Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unedited as usual cuz I barely have time to write.

Jungwoo invited me over because everyone decided to have a movie night and I, of course, agreed, not wanting to be left out in any of the fun. However, I also want to take advantage of the little time Jungwoo and I have left as a fake couple since Mark and Mina have been openly hanging out a lot more, meaning it won’t be long before they come out.

I sigh, thinking about how boring my life will be now that I won’t see Jungwoo all the time. We really began to spend all of our time together - watching movies, getting food, taking naps - it’s like we were a real couple and I’m afraid that it’s going to feel like a real breakup. Suddenly, my phone starts ringing as I’m walking up to their door and I pull it out of my back pocket. Jungwoo’s name lights up on the screen and I answer it.

“Hello? Why are you calling me? I’m literally walking up to your front door right now.” I lift my arm to knock, but the door flies open and Jungwoo pulls me inside quickly, shutting the door behind him. “What are you-”

“Shhh, I didn’t want everyone to know you’re here yet because we need to talk,” he explains hurriedly.

“Talk about what?”

“I think Mark and Mina might be coming out as a couple today. They’ve been whispering with each other and they even cuddled on the couch. Mark had his arm around her and Mina was laying her head on his shoulder! I think it’s happening,” he whisper-shouts. “They’ve never been so ballsy.”

“That’s true. They must be really comfortable now that they’re not worried about Doyoung and we’ve basically paved the way, showing how natural it is to date within a friend group.”

“So if they come out as a couple will we come out as a fake couple?”

I hesitate and bite my lip, hoping that he doesn’t catch the disappointment in my eyes. “Probably. I mean, we’ll have to. We can’t keep pretending if the reason we started fake dating was to get them comfortable enough to confess.”

He looks toward the living room before turning back to me and sliding his hand into mine and intertwining our fingers as we usually do. But today it feels more like a goodbye; maybe it’s just because I’ve developed feelings for him, so I’m too attached to consider this normal.

He leads us into the living room and a few of the boys turn to greet us, including Doyoung, no longer surprised to see us being - or rather acting - like a couple. I immediately spot Mina and Mark sitting a chair together, their bodies impossibly close and talking to each other as if they’re the only two in the room. Before Jungwoo and I can sit down Jaehyun asks if we can bring more snacks from the kitchen while they’re setting up the movie and we agree.

When we enter the kitchen I pull Jungwoo away from the entrance and drop my voice to a whisper. “They really are acting like a couple. Out in the open.”

“I told you.”

We begin gathering snacks, but I move slowly distracted by my thoughts. They might actually confess today. It’s really hitting me and I can’t hide the disappointment now that I’m on the verge of tears. Jungwoo pushes my hair back, inspecting the tears rolling down my cheeks before pulling me against him and rocking us back and forth.

“What’s wrong?” He questions softly, presumably trying not to catch the others’ attention.

His body is warm and I bury my head in his chest, reveling in the feeling of his slender arms around me, holding me close. I never want this to end; this moment or this relationship. “Nothing. I just had a long day of classes and I guess the stress was overwhelming.” The lie rolls off my tongue easily and I feel guilty, but there is no way I can tell him the truth.

“Are you sure that’s all?”

My heartbeat speeds up and I hope that he can’t feel it pounding against my ribs. “Yeah. Well, that and I’m on my period.”

He pulls away with furrowed eyebrows and adjusts my hair so he can see my face. “Didn’t you just have it a couple of weeks ago.”

I quickly try to think of a response. “Yeah, but the female body is wild. Sometimes they come early and sometimes you randomly miss a month, Anything can happen.”

He seems to believe me because he nods a few times, then wipes the tear stains from my cheek and neck. “Alright, well we better hurry up. We don’t want them thinking we’re fooling around in here.”

I laugh and he gives me a smile. We pile the snacks into our arms and carefully carry them out into the living room, setting them out across the table in the middle. The boys begin pulling them off the table and claiming them as their own, so I quickly grab a bag of chips before all the food is gone. Jungwoo plops onto a beanbag and motions for me to follow. I carefully sit beside him and he throws an arm around me, inviting me to lay my head on his chest and burrow into his warmth. I open the bag of chips, eating a few, then offering some to Jungwoo who declines.

Doyoung starts the movie and we all fall silent becoming entranced in the film playing across the screen. Someone turns the lights off and my eyes take a moment to adjust before I can spot the character on the TV once again. I relax into Jungwoo’s side as I watch the main character’s journey while quietly munching on the chips.

————–

The movie ends a couple hours later and the credits roll across the screen. I stretch, groaning in the process, then I let out a satisfied sigh when my muscles are no longer stiff. I look up at Jungwoo and he blinks at me a few times, clearly fighting sleep. He smiles at me and I squish his cheeks, admiring how cute he is up close.

The lights turn on and a moment later I hear Doyoung’s irritated voice. “Alright, what is this?”

I remove my hands from Jungwoo’s face, automatically thinking he’s speaking to us, but as I turn I notice he’s standing in front of Mark and Mina’s chair with his hands on his hips. I lean back into the beanbag, trying to find a good angle to watch what’s going on. Mina is draped across Mark, but they both have bright red cheeks and wide eyes that I’m sure they didn’t have moments ago.

“Doyoung,” I say in a warning tone.

He ignores me and keeps his eyes on the secret couple. “What is this? Are you two a thing now too?”

I watch the color drain from Mark’s face and Mina sits up, so there is more room between the pair. She stares at his hand for a few moments, pondering something in her head before seemingly making a decision and reaching out to hold his hand. Even though I already know they’re dating I let out a small gasp, surprised that Mina actually did something a little bold. She never does anything like that, especially not in front of Doyoung. This is why I’m considered the obnoxious one.

“Actually,” she starts off facing Mark and taking a few deep breaths through her nose. Mark turns and meets her eyes his face softening and returning to normal.

I whip my head around to Jungwoo who is leaning across the beanbag behind me, watching the scene unfold with the rest of us and he looks at me with wide eyes. My mouth falls open slightly and I turn back to Mark and Mina being watched by a less than pleased Doyoung. I hold my breath, hoping that they don’t actually come out because if they do we will too and I’m not ready to let him go.

I also hold my breath, praying that Doyoung doesn’t revert back to his normal self and do something stupid, especially now that it’s Mina. Mina, the shortest of our group and the most sensitive. If Doyoung is a bunny, then she is the smallest, most innocent little kitten in the entire world and we would kill anyone who hurt her, which is why I’m worried more for Mark than I ever was for Jungwoo.

“Do you think he’s going to be mad?” Jungwoo whispers in my ear.

I shake my head and shrug my shoulders. I can’t trust my words right now and I certainly can’t will myself to take a breath until the silence around me is broken.

“You’re right. We are a couple,” Mark finishes for Mina. That was brave of him and I hope his fake confidence works out for him.

Doyoung does a double-take and looks around the room, his eyes stopping on me. “Does this have something to do with you because this is quite the coincidence.”

I hold my hands up in defense and shake my head, uncharacteristically frightened by this situation. I blame it on my raging emotions, the tense atmosphere, and my fake period. Jungwoo wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him as if to protect me from Doyoung’s oncoming wrath.

Mina quickly steps in before this conversation takes a turn. “No, no. This has nothing to do with her, this is about Mark and I. We-we’ve actually been dating for-for-um,” she clears her throat and Mark steps in once again.

“We’ve been secretly dating for six months,” Mark clarifies, avoiding eye contact and scratching the back of his neck nervously.

The room is silent and I let my eyes wander around to all of the boys - whom I’ve only just remembered were in the room - and they all seem to be just as tense as the rest of us. We’re all waiting for what will be said or done next. I try to predict how this will all play out, but I honestly have no clue.

Doyoung turns back to me and my eyes widen. “And you had no idea?” He looks between Mina and me while he gestures to Jungwoo and Mark. “You both just so happened to start dating my members?”

I clear my throat and take a deep breath, hesitantly raising my hand to gain his attention and when his eyes zero in on me I instantly regret it. “Um, actually, we have something to confess as well.”

Doyoung’s eyes nearly pop out of his head and his face pales in a split second. “Oh my god, are you pregnant?” He looks like he’s about to pass out and I quickly wave my hands around frantically, shaking my head as gasps fill the room and I’m momentarily surrounded my chaos.

“No! No! No!” I shout to get everyone’s attention and they look back at me. “I’m not pregnant.”

“Yeah, she’s literally on her period as we speak,” Jungwoo adds for Doyoung’s benefit as he sends Jungwoo death glares.

“Hey, hey, whoa. You didn’t need to tell everyone my business.”

“He’s going to kill me,” Jungwoo defends himself, gesturing toward Doyoung.

I look between them and try to quickly defuse the situation. “No, no he’s not.” I turn to Doyoung and address him directly. “No, you’re not. You two are friends and I’m not pregnant, there will be no murders on my watch. Now, can we please focus?”

“What could you possibly have to confess?” Doyoung asks me, never breaking eye contact.

“Jungwoo and I, we’re-” suddenly my mouth feels dry and I want to start crying again, “we’re not actually dating.”

The silence that follows is so incredibly suffocating that I trick myself for a moment into thinking that I passed out and none of this is actually happening. That’s what I wish was happening.

“What?” Everyone seems to question at the same time. I look at Jungwoo and he’s picking at the beanbag, probably wishing he wasn’t in this awkward situation either.

“What do you mean you’re not actually dating?” Taeyong asks.

“Like you broke up?” Mina adds with sympathetic eyes.

I shake my head. “No, we were never actually dating.”

“Wait, I’m so confused,” Taeil says, leaning back and rubbing his head.

“Yeah, can you explain?” Mark asks.

I build up the courage, but before I can speak Jungwoo begins explaining. “___ found out that Mark and Mina were secretly dating, but she didn’t want to say anything because she didn’t want to push you guys before you were ready and she didn’t want Doyoung to freak out. She told me about it and we came up with a plan to begin ‘dating’ and act like a fake couple so everyone would get used to the idea of people within the friend group dating and so Doyoung would have time to get over himself.”

“We knew he wouldn’t react appropriately or supportively - which he didn’t - so we figured since we’re not actually dating and we can handle the unnecessary criticism and bitch fits-” I send Doyoung a look, but he turns his head, pouting, “that it would help you guys when you eventually wanted to come out as a couple.”

“Wait,” Johnny cuts in, looking as confused as I assumed they all would be, “you pretended to be a couple for the last like two months just so they would have an easier time assimilating into the group as a couple and altogether avoid Doyoung’s wrath? You two are super friends; I want you both to be my best men”

“Done.” I turn my attention back to Doyoung and Mina, raising an eyebrow. “I know you two are bursting at the seams.”

“You did what?” They both exclaim loudly, looking at me like I just murdered their cat.

“Yeah, and you’re welcome,” I reply calmly which only seems to turn them off more. Jungwoo chuckles softly behind me and Doyoung turns his gaze on him like a hawk that just found itself a mouse.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused.” I smile at him and I can practically see the smoke coming out of his ears and nose. This way more fun than I expected. Plus irritating Doyoung is helping to distract me from the overwhelming wave of emotions that are brewing beneath the surface.

He glares at me and takes a deep breath, clearly trying to keep control of his temper. “So you faked an entire relationship because of me. So what, is this your official breakup too?”

My smile drops and the weight and reality of the situation hits me at once. The dam of emotions breaks and floods me with a sudden sadness that makes my lip wobble. Doyoung’s face falls and as soon as the first tear falls he is standing in front of me, grabbing my face.

“No, no. What’s wrong? I’m sorry.”

I pull away and cover my face as I flee the room, running into the first room in the hallway. I shut the door behind me and face plant on the bed, sobbing into my hands. At least I can blame my fake period for the crying. It seems like everything in my life is fake now… except for the pain I feel from this fake breakup.

Why did I do this to myself? But how was I supposed to know that I would develop feelings for Jungwoo? I’ve never seen any of the boys romantically, but somehow I fell for Jungwoo and I’m already feeling the consequences. Maybe it is a bad idea to date within a friend group.

There’s a knock at the door and I mumble a come in. The door opens and softly shuts behind the two sets of footsteps that enter. Honestly, could be any mixture of either Jungwoo, Mina, or Doyoung. I sit up, quickly wiping the tears off my face and fixing my shirt to pretend that the meltdown was from my period and everything is fine.

When I look up I don’t expect to see Mark and Mina standing before me with pitiful looks plastered on their faces. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why do you think?” Mina questions softly.

“Because I cried. But it’s fine, nothing to worry about. I’m just emotional from my period; no big deal.”

“You’re not on your period,” she replies, becoming a little sterner. “We have each other’s in our calendars in case one of us forgets to put it in, remember? You’re not crying because of your period and I know you know why you’re really crying.”

I open and close my mouth, trying to come up with an excuse or a deflection, but everything she has said is spot on and I don’t know how to deny it. “I-I don’t know.”

“But you do.”

I shake my head and she holds up a hand, stopping my denial before it leaves my mouth. She walks forward and kneels in front of me, grabbing my hands. “You do know. And we know too, but we won’t say anything. We wouldn’t do that to you.”

“And what do you think you know?”

“That you have real feelings for Jungwoo and it wasn’t just for show, at least not the entire time,” Mark replies. Oh god, I hope everyone doesn’t know.

Mina steps in to calm me down before I begin aggressively denying their claim. “It’s okay. You don’t have to lie. I’m one of your best friends and I won’t say anything. But I will have you know that I don’t like that you knew about Mark and I, but didn’t say anything.”

“Well, I had to help ease Doyoung in somehow or he would have scared you two apart. You two are small, shy little beans and I needed to protect you from his unnecessary wrath. I was rooting for you two and you didn’t even know it.”

They both blush and I smile, knowing that I did well. “I don’t really think it eased him in enough though because he was still tempted to kill me. I could see it in his eyes,” Mark says with a little bit of worry in his eyes.

I shake my head, waving my hands at him. “No, no, have no fear; I’ll protect you if he tries anything.” I wipe the last of my tears away and take a deep breath, unsure of what the next step should be for the first time in a while. “I guess, we should go back out there.”

I stand up, getting ready to leave, but Mina grabs me and pushes me back to sit on the bed. She stands in front of me with a bright smile and I furrow my eyebrows at her, uneasy with her mood change. She looks at me, then at Mark, then back at me and I look at Mark, but he seems confused as well.

“I have a great idea,” she says, clapping her hands and bouncing on her feet. “Mark and I can help you now. I can be the mastermind now and have a plan to help you! Oh, I’m so excited.”

“What?” Mark and I ask simultaneously.

“I want to help you and Jungwoo get together. Oh my gosh, it’ll be so much fun! Now I can be like you and get stuff done,” she cheers happily.

I watch her skeptically. “Um, I don’t think he wants that.”

She frowns at me, placing her hands on her hips and Mark comes up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. My heart clenches and I wish that that was Jungwoo and I. “How do you know? He could be thinking the same thing about you.”

“Doubt it,” I reply stubbornly, looking away from them to stop the envy crawling its way into my heart.

“Well, I’m doing it. I’m gonna be your wing-woman now and you can’t stop me.”

————-

That was two weeks ago and it’s still haunting me. I haven’t heard anything about it, though we’ve seen each other, and I keep harassing Mark about it, he won’t cough up any information because “his loyalties lie elsewhere”. The thought makes me want to run my head into the wall and I mentally roll my eyes. Couples can be so annoying.

I haven’t been to the dorms since that day, meaning I haven’t seen Jungwoo or Doyoung. Doyoung has tried to talk to me, asking me what’s wrong - because somehow he always knows - but I continue to deny anything and everything, keeping my feelings hidden. Jungwoo has texted me a few times, but I always come up with excuses like school and work are crazy or my family wants to see me. I feel bad, I really do, but I can’t bring myself to talk to him or see him, especially since I don’t know what Mina has been up to.

Which is why I asked her to meet up because I want to know what she has been up to. She insisted that we meet at her place, but I’m worried that it’s some sort of trap. Will Mark be there? Because I know he’s in on whatever it is she has been doing. What if Jungwoo is there? What if she told Doyoung? What if I’m paranoid?

I shake my head to rid myself of all the worries I’ve been accumulating and knock on her door, stepping back just in case I need to make a break for it. After a few moment,s Mina opens the door with her usual bright smile, but because I’m so on edge I automatically assume something is going to happen and duck away when she moves to hug me.

“Why did we have to meet here?” I question, suspicion evident on my face.

She scoffs, looking slightly insulted, but not enough to make it seem real. “What’s wrong with meeting up here? Don’t act like you haven’t been to my apartment a thousand times. We lived together at one point, remember? Now, stop being a baby and get in here.”

She reaches forward to pull me in, closing the door behind her and I flinch. She rolls her eyes at me and my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Maybe I need to chill out. I walk into the living room behind Mina and peek over each of her shoulders before deciding that this room is safe.

“Will you calm down?”

Suddenly Mark walks into the room from the hallway and I’m so scared for a few seconds that I scream and climb onto the back of the couch. If I had been a cartoon cat I would have been nails deep in the ceiling. Mark drops his phone and smacks a hand to his chest from my outburst, catching his breath and looking at me like I’m crazy.

“What was that? You know me!” He shouts, still recovering.

I turn to Mina, slowly climbing down from the couch. “I thought no one else was going to be here?”

“I never said that. I said you need to get inside and calm down. Just assume there’s always a 50/50 chance that Mark is going to be over here.”

I roll my eyes. “Great.”

“Hey!”

“Don’t take it personally, I’m going through a trying time in my life. I got scared of my own shadow walking to the coffee shop yesterday, then cried in the bathroom because some little girl gave her mom a flower. Life is stressful.”

Mina scoffs again and pulls me to sit on the couch. “Only because you’re making this harder than it needs to be and stressing yourself out. Just talk to Jungwoo.”

“No. Nope. I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“Because why?’

“Because I said so.”

She groans and throws her head back for a moment and I slump back into the couch, crossing my arms and pouting. Mina looks at Mark and gives him a weird look. He disappears into the hallway and I tense up immediately, assuming something is about to go down. And I must have some sort of spidey senses, because within the next few seconds Doyoung appears where Mark was standing. I sit up, my eyes widening and looking between my two best friends like they just did a magic trick and successfully switched bodies.

I stand up and they both flinch like they’re ready to catch me if I run. Which is exactly what I was going to do and I’m mad that they know me so well. I glance in the direction of the front door and Mina stand up, shaking her head at me.

I huff and plop back onto the couch, feeling like a cornered animals. Unfortunately, I’m not like a deer that could just take them out with its antlers or hop over them. Doyoung steps closer and I lift my gaze to watch him carefully, silently warning him that I’m unhappy with this situation, so he shouldn’t push his luck. For once, he takes the warning and freezes in his spot, folding his hands in front of him.

“Why are you here?” I ask him.

“Because I know something is wrong and I know you’ve been avoiding me. Also, I know that you’re avoiding Jungwoo because you have feelings for him,” he adds on quickly, crossing his arms as I throw mine apart, screeching out a “what”.

I stand up at the speed up, turning on Mina and pointing an accusing finger at her. “You told him!”

She shakes her head aggressively, holding her hands up in defense. She looks just as surprised as I am and I know that it must be because Doyoung just knows everything. “I didn’t tell anyone. The only other person that knew besides you was Mark.”

“What?” Doyoung asks, clearly annoyed. “He knew about my best friend’s crush before I did? What the hell?”

I turn around and let my mouth fall open. “Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about? Instead of, I don’t know, invading my privacy and getting all up in my business?”

“No, why would I be worried about that? What’s more important is that you didn’t tell me and have been avoiding me. I’m your childhood best friend and I should know about your crush on your fake boyfriend, who is also my friend, before Mark, who is also my friend, but now also happens to be our other childhood best friend’s secret boyfriend turned public.”

I raise my eyebrows, momentarily amused by his words.

“You see what you two did? Listen to our lives now because you two made everything weird,” he whines, but tries to cover it with irritation.

“We didn’t do anything,” we argue back.

“Whatever-”

“No, no, no. If you want to put everything out on the table and try to preach to us, then sit down because I’m about to dish it out.” He’s reluctant at first, but eventually rolls his eyes and sits on the edge of the sofa after I glare at him. “You can’t keep being bitter about Mark and Mina’s relationship or mine and Jungwoo’s, whether it was fake or not. That is not how friends support each other and I swear to the stars above that if you continue acting this way, then this friendship won’t last.”

He blinks up at me in surprise, his mouth falling open. Mina sighs behind me and I feel a little bit of guilt seep into my mind, my heart clenching at speaking something so cruel to one of my best friends. But at the same time, if he’s really our best friends he should be supporting us even if we’re dating members in his group.

He sighs before closing his mouth and standing up. For a moment I believe he will shove past me and walk out the door, ending our friendship. My heart breaks and I take a deep breath to prepare myself for the worst. Instead, he drags me by the arm over to Mina and pulls us both into a hug, one under each arm. I look at Mina and furrow my eyebrows. She shrugs and simply accepts the hug as it is: a peace treaty and an apology.

I pat his back until he releases us, wiping away a few tears. “This is why you’re my favorite,” he says, blinking and sniffling, “you tell it like it is.”

“Hey,” Mina whines and I snort, rolling my eyes. “Aren’t we both your favorites?”

 

“Yes, but for very different reasons.” He pats both of our heads and I pull away.

“Typical. Thanks, dad, for making both of us feel average.”

“I feel great,” Mina replies with a smirk.

Doyoung pulls me back under his arm and rubs my hair. “Aw, you’ve become so fragile since the Jungwoo incident.”

“Don’t call it that,” I tell him, pinching his nipple. He gasps and pulls back, his mouth open in shock and pain.

“But that’s what is was,” he whines.

“But that’s what it was,” I mock him, giving him a glare and flopping back on the couch, exhausted from my dramatic life.

“Are you going to just get over yourself and talk to him already or should I just ask him out for you?” I kick his leg until he hops away, cradling the injured limb. “I was joking! I was joking, calm down! Damn.”

“Well, stop messing with me I’m sensitive right now, I thought you knew that!”

“Yes, I know. Our precious little bean is sensitive during these trying times of her love life.”

“I don’t have a love life,” I respond, pouting slightly.

“Me either,” he pouts back, though I have a feeling it’s genuine.

Mina steps in with a bright smile and too much pep in her step. “Well, we’ll just have to fix that for you two won’t we?”

“No,” we reply at the same time, horrified of what she might try.

“Aw, come on. You might as well agree because I already have my plans in action.” She smirks at us and I fall back into the couch dramatically, placing a hand over my heart.

“Oh, dear.”


End file.
